Israel will likely begin a crackdown on illegal settler outposts in the West Bank when U.S. President George W. Bush visits the region next week, Vice Premier Haim Ramon said on Friday. "I hope and assess that, in the coming period, and thereafter, during the U.S. president's visit to Israel and afterwards, real steps will be taken to remove those outposts," Vice Premier Haim Ramon told Israel Radio. Ramon did not give details on which of the outposts, erected without government approval, might be dismantled. [Reine Glaubenssache.]

Sehr gute Analyse zum Abschneiden der Streitkräfte während des letztjährigen Libanonkrieges: Given that the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee's report on the Second Lebanon War was signed by 17 Knesset members representing the entire political spectrum, it is impossible to claim that it was politically biased. The committee regularly supervises the defense establishment, so it was natural for it to try to learn the lessons of the war. Instead of accusing it of having failed to hold the government responsible, people should read what's in the report. Its findings, like other information about the war, depict an army that has ceased to be an army. The Israel Defense Forces failed to defeat Hezbollah, even though they had enough time (too much time, in the committee's opinion). And the IDF had public and international support, reservists who showed up on short notice, more than enough technology and weaponry, and an enemy located near the border. ...

Die arabische Ente des Tages: "Al-Arabiya reported on Friday that according to Swiss sources, Swiss government officials were mediating between Israel and Hamas in indirect negotiations concerning a 10-year ceasefire and prisoner exchange." [Brüll]

A week after Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack, a Jewish human rights group has taken out a full page ad in the New York Times on Friday demanding that the United Nations formally address suicide bombings. The ad by the Los Angeles based Simon Wiesenthal Center features a picture of Bhutto beneath the words "SUICIDE TERROR: What more will it take for the world to act?" and calls on the United Nations for a special session devoted to the issue.

IDF soldiers are using dogs to attack and harass Palestinian civilians and detainees, the Public Committee against Torture in Israel (PCATI) charged in a letter sent earlier this week to Military Advocate General Brig.-Gen. Avihai Mandelblitt. Asked by The Jerusalem Post for a response to the letter, the IDF Spokesman replied, "The IDF has not yet received the letter from PCATI regarding this subject. If it does receive it, the army will examine and respond to it." According to the letter, written by attorney Ya'ara Kalmanowitz, the organization has received many complaints from Palestinians over the years regarding soldiers' use of dogs during and after detention.

Die Geflügelpest ist nicht gemeint [4000 Hühner werden in Israel heute "gekeult"] ... Yossi Verter, "Preparing for the worst": One minister this week compared Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to a sophisticated radar system that rotates continually in 360-degree circles. "During the past two to three months," said the minister, "Olmert has been busy with only one thing: discovering centers of dissatisfaction in the political arena, both in the coalition and in the opposition. Every sliver of displeasure or complaint is immediately taken care of and receives total attention from him and his people. Ahead of the Winograd Committee report, Olmert wants everyone around him to be satisfied. So nobody will have an excuse to rock the boat."

Nach einigen ruhigeren Tagen gehts im Libanon wieder los. The Hizbullah-led opposition is considering staging protests at the Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport, as well as at major ports across Lebanon, Bkirki and the US Embassy in Awkar, according to local media reports on Thursday. The reports were carried by both the Al-Akhbar and Al-Mustaqbal dailies. Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in an interview on NBN television on Wednesday night, warned that the opposition would not "remain silent" in the face of the ruling coalition's attempts to "monopolize rule." He said the opposition would give current mediation efforts a week to 10 days before taking "decisive measures," but did not specify what these measures would be. The opposition is demanding nothing less than veto power in a new government. + The government formed a delegation to represent Lebanon at the extraordinary meeting of Arab foreign ministers during a Cabinet session on Monday. The meeting is scheduled to take place on Sunday in Cairo, and the political deadlock in Lebanon is expected to figure among the top items to be discussed on the agenda.